248 RHOPALOCERA AFRICA AUSTRALIS. 



and, except in the pale-violaceous-blue examples, confluent 

 with outer white edging of transverse row of spots ; those of 

 the outer row forming, with a hind-marginal line, white 

 rings). Hind-wing : first and last spots of transverse row 

 small, rounded, black ; near base a transverse row of four 

 small, black, white-ringed spots ; hind-marginal black spot 

 bluish-silvery-dusted, as well as a smaller spot next anal 

 angle. 



? . Varies from blackish-brown broadly shot with violaceous- 

 blue from bases over discs to pale grey-brown without a trace 

 of blue. Fore-wing : disco-cellular spot broad, reniform, 

 usually very conspicuous, but in the pale grexj - brown 

 specimens thinner or nearly obsolete ; hind-marginal brown 

 faintly varied with whitish spots. Hind-iving : usually a 

 more or less distinct streak closing cell, followed, in some of 

 the darker specimens, by traces of the dark transverse row of 

 spots on under-side ; rings of hind-marginal spots, as well as 

 row of suffused lunules before them, white in interm-cdiate 

 examples, bluish in darkest, and faint or wanting in palest 

 specimens ; orange lunule of black spot usually broad and 

 conspicuous (fainter in darkest specimens), between it and 

 anal angle one or two imperfect orange lunules in intermediate 

 examples. Under-side. — As in $ , but even more variable. 

 Both sexes with a very short tail on hind-wing. 



Var, $ and ? . — Dark-brown, often with a reddish gloss ; 

 cilia in both wings conspicuously black-spotted ; marginal 

 spots wanting, or barely traceable. Fore-wing : disco-cellular 

 spot nearly obsolete. Hind-iving : black spot small, indistinct 

 without orange lunule. Under-side. — Like that of the 

 darker ordinary examples, but browner : row of spots beyond 

 middle more irregular, in both wings bent inwards on median 

 nervule. Tails wanting. 



So continuous and gradual is the linking series of specimens between the 

 ? of the variety just characterised (described by me in the Trans. Ent. 

 Soc. as L. Methymna, ? ) and the 5 s of the excessively-variable L. Cekcus, 

 that I find myself unable, in spite of the striking dissimilarity between the 

 $ s, to record this variety as distinct. The specimens described as Asteris 

 by Godart (and latterly by Wallengren) appear to belong to the variation 

 above described as "glistening silvery-blue" in the $ : examples of this, 

 as well as of that with the " pale violaceous blue " $ , have only reached 

 me from Kaffraria. The ? s of these variations are distinct, though nearly 

 identical in upper-side markings, the under-side respectively presenting the 

 differences above-noted as occurring in the ^ s. I have not seen any ^ 

 that seems to correspond with the "pale grey-brown" ?s (the "pale 

 violaceous blue" $ is the nearest) which seem common at Natal, and most 

 resemble Cramer's figures. The dark $ s, with the dark broadly-blue shot 

 $ s, I have taken abundantly near Cape Town and also at Mossel Bay (iu 

 these, as well as iu the variety, the disco-cellular spot of under-side is very 



